economics, political, and legal systems

MKTG 376 ECONOMICS, POLITICAL, AND LEGAL SYSTEMS Lars Perner, Instructor 1

ECONOMICS, POLITICAL, AND LEGAL SYSTEMS

• Secondary international market information /data resources

• Brief review of– International economics– Trade policy

• The political environment

• Legal systems


Useful Periodicals

• Heavily internationally focused– Economist– Journal of

Commerce– Forbes– Business America

(U.S. Dept. of Commerce)

– World Press Review

• Some international coverage– Wall Street

Journal, New York Times, Washington Post

– Business Week, Fortune

– Time, Newsweek


Other

• Academic country specialists (e.g., anthropologists, economists)

• Consultants• Expatriates• Own experience


Data Availability and Reliability

• Availability/ ability to collect data

• Motivations for releasing data– Wishful thinking vs. reality– The Web--accessible to any

fool or group• Comparability of

data/Arbitrary differences in measurements

• Recency--is the data up-to-date?


Cost of Data

• Much “raw” data is free from– U.S. Gvt.– United Nations– Research

institutions• Commercial

directories• Consulting

services


Library Databases

• Book– Library catalogs (e.g., SDSU

PAC)– Books in Print– Amazon.com

• Indexing• Collaborative filtering

suggestions• Periodical

– Business & Industry– Lexis-Nexis– ABI/Inform– Factiva (formerly Dow Jones)

• Foreign language– HAPI Online (Hispanic

American Periodicals Index) – Lexis-Nexis

• Government reports– Stat-USA

• Other country info– Countrywatch.com– Specialty

• Latin America Database• HAPI Online (Hispanic

American Periodicals Index)

• Academic research (usually theoretical, hard to read)– Behavioral: PsychInfo– Economics: Econlit

See handouts for details


University of Texas Library Resource Lists

• International business source list: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/subject/business/internat.html

• Marketing source list: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/subject/business/marketing.html

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/subject/business/internat.html

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/subject/business/internat.html

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/subject/business/marketing.html

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/subject/business/marketing.html


VERY BRIEF REVIEW OF ECONOMICS

• Exchange rates– Floating (supply and

demand)– fixed

• Trade balances and their impact on exchange rates

• Measuring country wealth– gross domestic product– “purchase parity” vs.

nominal


U.S./Euro Exhange RateEuros per Dollar

00.20.40.60.8

11.21.4

1/1/

1999

7/1/

1999

1/1/

2000

7/1/

2000

1/1/

2001

7/1/

2001

1/1/

2002

7/1/

2002

1/1/

2003

7/1/

2003

1/1/

2004

7/1/

2004

1/1/

2005

Rate


Demand for Currency Depends On

• Trade deficit (demand for foreign currency to fund this) or trade surplus (demand for country’s currency)

• Interest rates: Higher interest rates (real) attract foreign investors (especially for “stable” U.S. bonds and equities)

• Inflation: Reduces the attractiveness of holding the currency


Nominal vs. Purchase Parity Adjusted GNPs—Examples (2004)

Country Nominal GNP PPA Luxemburg $56,230 $61,220 Norway 52,030 38,550 United States 41,400 41,400 Japan 37,180 30,040

Argentina 3,720 12,460 Czech Republic 9,150 18,400 Mexico 6,770 9,590 China 1,290 5,530

Source: World Bank http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GNIPC.pdf


Nominal vs. Purchasing Power Parity GNPs

05,000

10,00015,000

20,00025,00030,00035,00040,000

0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000

PPA


Nominal GNP vs. Ratio

0.001.002.003.004.005.006.007.008.00

0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000

Ratio


Cautions on Interpreting Per Capita Figures

• Averages are not very meaningful!– Regional variations– Socio-economic differences

• Comparison to U.S. dollar and U.S. costs is arbitrary


Obstacles to Trade: Protectionism

• Differing interests of consumers and manufacturers

• Benefits of trade tend to be more diffused than benefits to specific groups of protectionism


Approaches to Protectionism

• Tariffs• Quotas• “Voluntary” export

restrictions• Subsidies to

domestic producers/exporters

• Non-tariff barriers– legal obstacles– differential

treatment


U.S. Protectionism--justified or not...

• Defense industry• Agricultural products--

e.g., beef, sugar• Textiles• Automobiles

(“voluntary” import restrictions)

• Steel


Justifications for Protectionism

• Protect infant industry• Resist “unfair” or inappropriate

competition• Protect home market (ensure that product

can be produced domestically)--defense• Intervene into temporary imbalance• Maintain domestic living standards• Preserve jobs• Bargaining power/retaliation (Super-301

provision in U.S.)


Effects of Protectionism

• Reduced competition ---> inflation• More tariffs • Weaken balance of payments

(have to pay more in own currency)

• Reduce choice to consumers • May induce global trade wars

(vicious cycle)


THE POLITICAL AND LEGAL ENVIRONMENTS

• Political history and stability

• Political relations between countries --impact on business

• Legal differences between countries

• Extra-territorial application of laws


The Legal Environment

• Which laws apply when doing business between countries?– contractual

specifications– treaties– extra-territorial

applications of laws

– “compulsion” as a defense


Some Political Risks

• Confiscation, expropriation, and domestication

• Economic risks– Exchange controls– Local content

requirements– Import restrictions– Tax controls– Price controls– Labor problems


Development of Legal Systems

• Laws on the books vs. laws enforced (transparency)– Japan: “Administrative guidance”

• The ability to sue--a blessing or a curse?– Means of litigation– Implications for contract initiation

and enforcement• Evolving nature of legal systems


Approaches to Law

• Common law (U.S., Britain, and many English speaking countries)

• Code law (much of Europe and Louisiana)

• Islamic law• Socialist based law• Asian laws


Common Law

• Gradually evolved in British courts, settling issues as they arose

• Emphasis on precedent• Recognized by U.S. Constitution• Standards

– criminal: “Innocent until proven guilty”

– civil: “Preponderance of evidence”


Code (Napoleonic) Law

• Law governed by explicit statutory codes--”match” codes to issues as well as possible

• Somewhat different standards in contracts --what constitutes an “act of God” canceling contractual obligations?

• Criminal law: “Guilty until proven innocent” but difficult to bring to trial


Islamic Law

• Note that different varieties exist• Traditions of Islamic countries are

not all tied to Islamic religion per se

• Purpose of promoting justice– assets are thought to be held in “trust”– interest is frowned upon

• Much wider scope than Western law: Shar’ia: the way


Socialist Law

• Basis for law in China, former Soviet Republics, and countries influenced by Communist allies

• Based on the view that the government owns productive resources --->– contract and intellectual property laws

are typically not well developed• Legal scholars from the West are

helping to reform


Asian Law

• Based on compromise and accommodation

• Less emphasis on abstract principles

• Less emphasis on consistent application across circumstances

• Emphasis on informal resolution


U.S. Laws of Interest to firms with U.S. Involvement

• Anti-trust• Foreign Corrupt

Influences• Anti-boycott laws• Trading With the Enemy

economics, political, and legal systems

Documents